Khadgam

Khadgam (transl. “Sword”) is a 2002 Telugu action drama directed by Krishna Vamsi and produced by Sunkara Madhu Murali under Karthikeya Movies. Srikanth, Ravi Teja and Prakash Raj lead an ensemble with Sonali Bendre, Sangeetha and Kim Sharma, and Devi Sri Prasad composed the music. Set in Hyderabad, it is a film about patriotism, prejudice and terrorism. Released on 29 November 2002, it won five Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.

What the story is about

Koti, an aspiring actor, and his friend Murthy, a would-be director, are struggling in Hyderabad’s film industry, kicked out of studios and getting by as a junior artist and an assistant director. When their landlord, Khaja, threatens them over six months of unpaid rent, they turn to Amjad Bhai, a big-hearted auto driver who stands for communal harmony in his neighbourhood and who still grieves a brother lost in past religious riots.

Elsewhere, ACP Radhakrishna, a tough and honest police officer, is consumed by one mission: to catch Azar Khan, the terrorist who killed his fiancée in Kashmir. That loss has turned into suspicion of all Muslims, and it clouds his judgement. Through a mutual friend, an army officer known as Captain, the three men’s lives begin to cross. Where that leads is the film’s story, and we will not give it away.

Cast and crew

• Srikanth as ACP Radhakrishna
• Ravi Teja as Koti
• Prakash Raj as Amjad
• Sonali Bendre as Swathi
• Sangeetha as Seethamahalakshmi
• Kim Sharma as Pooja
• Pooja Bharti as Zubeda
• Uttej as Murthy
• Brahmaji as Captain
• M. S. Narayana as M. S. Khaja
• Shafi as Azhar
• Subbaraju and Raghu Babu

Director: Krishna Vamsi. Music: Devi Sri Prasad. Runtime: 144 minutes.

Music

Devi Sri Prasad composed the soundtrack. The idea behind the song “Govinda Govinda” comes from Adnan Sami’s “Lift Karadey”.

Reviews

Contemporary reviews were mixed to warm. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com felt that Krishna Vamsi tried to inject elements of several other genres into a patriotic action film, and that “in that process, the patriotic aspect of the film did not get elevated”. The critic at Full Hyderabad was more enthusiastic, saying the director “deserves three cheers”, both for making an offbeat film and for “studiously avoiding patriotic jing bang to convey his message”.

Box office and legacy

Wikipedia describes Khadgam as a blockbuster, but the only source it gives is a 2023 video interview with Srikanth, and we have not found a collection figure from a named outlet. In that interview Srikanth spoke about the threatening calls the team received over the film. Khadgam was remade in Hindi as Insan (2005) and dubbed into Hindi as Marte Dam Tak, into Tamil as Manik Baasha and into Bhojpuri as Bemisaal Hai Hum.

Where to watch Khadgam

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Khadgam on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Khadgam and the reviews it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.